Halo: The New Recruit
by CrazyBirdMan59
Summary: There is a new member that is joining Troy's squad. Unfortunately, this new member is bringing a few problems for Troy along with them... Will Troy find a way to deal with it? Or will the recruit have to take matters into their own hands? Female Sangheili/Male ODST Swearing and violence. Skipable sex scene.
1. Chapter 1: Trauma

_Troy struggled against the Elite holding him down. His face was pressed against the cool metal of the torture table. A Brute held up a white-hot brand. Troy struggled even more, but it was no use. The brand was scorched into the human's skin. Troy screamed._

Troy sat up quickly in his bed. He was gasping for breath and covered in sweat.

"Nightmares again?" Sally asked from the bunk above him. Troy slowed his breathing and said "Yeah." No more words were spoken as Troy and Sally tried to go back to sleep. Troy knew he never would.

Troy pulled his ODST Jumpsuit over his head. He shivered as the cool material brushed against his skin where he had been branded so long ago. All his other wounds had healed, but this one never would. Over the months spent on the UNSC frigate, he had found the only person he could talk to about his past was Sally. Troy hated the Covenant so much, and when the UNSC allied themselves with the Elites, he still hated them. No matter how much of an asset the Sangheili were, he would never forgive them for the part they played in his torture. He had counted 27 days, and each day there was a different, more horrifying pain. He would never forget the joy the Elites received from hearing him scream. He grabbed his ODST helmet and ran to the briefing room.

"Corporal Steel, glad you could join us," Troy's commanding officer, General Derz, greeted him. Troy gave him a quick nod and took a seat. "Fireteam Cobalt, we know that this may be a bit fast but... we have a replacement for your deceased teammate. I know I know, we haven't given you enough time to mourn him, but you're one of the best teams we have; we need you operating in the field again ASAP." None of the three ODSTs in the room were happy with this.

"We've lost people before and managed without them," Sergeant Hoi, the leader of the Fireteam, pointed out.

"You want to operate a team with three people?" the general demanded. Hoi relented. "Your two new teammates may take some getting used to, but I'm sure you'll manage. Their names are Calsu and Yuri."

"Calsu and Yuri?" Hoi repeated.

"Friends of yours?" Flint, the team's heavy trooper asked.

"I have never heard the names before in my life," Hoi said suspiciously. Hoi had been to over three hundred different planets, if he hadn't heard the names before... There was no time to think about it, as the doors opened and two figures stepped in. Flint choked on his coffee, Hoi let out a little gasp and Troy fully fell off his chair. The two... _things _in the middle of the room looked about in confusion.

"Have you not informed them of who we are?" the first one inquired.

"I thought you would like to do that," General Derz answered. The first one stepped forward.

"I am Yuri, former Zealot in the Covenant ranks," he introduced himself.

"I am Calsu," the second Sangheili told them, glaring at her companion. "I have been unable to get past the rank of Minor as I am of the female gender, but I assure you I am perfectly capable in combat situations." Flint managed to stop spluttering for long enough to study the newcomers. Yuri was, like all Sangheili, tall and broad, with plenty of muscle. He wore shiny orange armour with intricate glowing red accents. Calsu was of a significantly more slender build with a face that was slightly more angular than the males. Her armour was a simple but bold purple. She had captivating sapphire eyes that stared at her new team, not too impressed with their reaction. She took careful note of all of the humans as they were introduced. A gruff man who was of a large, strong build with short, dark grey hair that matched his shaggy moustache went by the name 'Flint'. He refused to do anything else but offer his name though, further exaggerating the feeling of hostility the humans had towards them. The second was the team's leader. He was a 'Chinese' man who was quite skinny, but moved in a very graceful way that seemed to suggest he calculated every single step he took. He bowed slightly as he exchanged his name, not giving up his first name though, saying that they would only need his surname, as it is the only one you need to put after the word 'Sergeant', suggesting he had no intention of befriending them. Calsu and Yuri looked towards the last human expectantly. He had short musky blonde hair and intelligent greyish-blue eyes. He was shaking, on the floor, raising a hand as if to protect himself. He had previously been fumbling for his gun, only to remember he didn't wear a sidearm around the ship anymore (he had been forbidden to after shooting a Sangheili in the leg when it tried to sit next to him in the cafeteria. His COs had let him off lightly, reasoning that everyone had been a bit jumpy when the Sangheili were allowed on board, it was only a matter of time before someone snapped, they said.), so now he was just sitting there, refusing to look at them.

"Troy, what the hell are you doing?" General Derz growled. Yuri stepped forward to lend him a hand, but 'Troy' just scrambled away. He finally managed to get to his feet, using the wall for stability. He hadn't turned his back on them once.

"Are you alright human?" Yuri asked. Troy just shook his head and sprinted out the door.

"Troy! Get your ass back here!" Derz yelled after him. After a few minutes of awkward silence, General Derz turned to Hoi for answers. "What's _wrong _with that kid?" Hoi shrugged.

"He's never done anything like that before sir... then again, this is the first time he's been near a Sangheili without a way to kill it." Hoi paused for a bit. "Apart from..." he trailed off. Derz gazed at him questioningly. "Apart from '49." That wasn't helpful. The two Sangheili had been forgotten, excluded from the conversation between the humans. Derz clearly didn't know what '49 was, so Hoi elaborated. "In 2549, Troy's whole Fireteam was murdered. He was the sole survivor, and was taken back to a Covenant outpost where he was tortured for twenty-seven days." Hoi shot the two aliens in the corner a look, as if daring them to add anything. "This was way back before he joined my Fireteam. Hell, he wasn't even an ODST back then. I only know as much as the files tell me."

"Why hasn't this emerged before?"

"He had a way to deal with it before. Kill any inhuman son-of-a-bitch dumb enough to get close to him. Now, he's cornered. The things he hates most are supposed to be his friends." Hoi shook his head sadly. "I guess that's why he was one of the best; he had a lot of motivation."

"Do you think he'll be okay to stay on the active roster?"

"As long as he finds a way to hate Brutes more than he hates Elites."

"Fat chance," Flint grunted.


	2. Chapter 2: Challenge

Troy sat leaning against the wall of his and Sally's barracks. The amount of Sangheili that had come in had forced the marines to sleep in barracks of two to six people, usually it was just two. He and Sally had been lucky in the fact that their arrangement had stayed the same when the Sangheili on the ship they had rescued from a crashing cruiser came along, and the COs had promised that they would be gone as soon as possible. He hoped that Sally wouldn't come in while he was so vulnerable. Then he hoped she did. Then he didn't, then he realised he was having a panic attack and needed to calm down. He took deep breaths, trying to calm himself. _It's okay_, he told himself. _I'll have Flint and Hoi to watch my back. _He tried to take comfort from this, but was unable to do anything but stifle a sob of helplessness. He suddenly jerked up as the door opened. Hoi and Flint stepped in. They fussed over him a bit, trying to convince him that it was going to be fine.

"Hey, by the time we get a mission, you'll have adjusted to them," Flint assured him. Hoi looked guilty. Troy knew exactly what was on his mind.

"Actually," he murmured. "The General wants us ready to drop in twenty minutes."

"What?" Flint exclaimed. "He's in no condition to –"

"I know. I tried to tell him, but the General says Troy's the only available person with the skill-set we need." Flint glanced at Troy sympathetically, then moved off to the armoury, Hoi close behind. In order to keep his job, Troy forced himself to follow. If he did well in this mission, the General might excuse his earlier behaviour. He gulped and strapped on his armour and grabbed a SOCOM and an SMG. Soon he was sitting in his pod, waiting to drop. A mechanical arm grabbed his pod and lifted him and his team out into space where they would be dropped onto the planet below.

"So, what are we doing today sarge?" Flint asked.

"Reconnaissance. Just checking out a potential weapons cache. Small chance of resistance." The pods were released and sent hurtling down towards the planet's surface.

Troy opened his eyes shakily. He usually enjoyed the sensation of dropping, but the thought of going on a mission with those _aliens _made his stomach churn. He was having a hard time not throwing up. What's more, when he tried to open his hatch, he realised he was pressed up against the trunk of a rather large tree.

"Sarge!" he cried. "I'm stuck!" He felt extremely claustrophobic all of a sudden. He was pounding the hatch, trying to get it off. The pod lurched from his movement and he felt himself sink lower.

"Hang in there Troy. We're in some kind of swamp. If you struggle too much you might sink into the mud," came his superior's voice. Well, he already knew _that_. He unstrapped himself and braced himself on the back of his pod, with his feet up against the hatch. He applied as much pressure as he could, but still it wouldn't budge.

"What is this treachery?" Yuri roared. "Your machine is malfunctioning!"

"Press the three little red buttons," Flint sighed, and Troy could tell he was rolling his eyes.

"I have!" Yuri growled. "Nothing has happened. There are no obstacles in my path!" Troy cried out as the pod shifted and he fell to the floor. It swayed a little bit before finally rolling onto its side, allowing the built up pressure of the release pins to blow the hatch off into the distance. Troy groaned as he flopped to the ground, coating his armour with mud and leaves, but glad to finally be out of the confined space. He gawped at the hand that was suddenly extended towards him. He followed the arm to the face of its owner, paralysed with fear. Calsu gave him a 'well?' look. Troy still didn't move. She snorted and put her hand down, tramping off into the swamp. "I am running out of oxygen humans!" Yuri reminded them. Troy finally managed to pick himself up off the ground, glancing both ways to make sure the Sangheili was gone. He trotted off towards the nearest waypoint on his HUD. He had no idea which of his four teammates he was heading to, but he was assuming it was Hoi, as it was not moving, implying that he was waiting for the rest of the team to meet him. What Troy saw when he eventually broke through the undergrowth was an unopened pod. "About time," Yuri grunted from inside. Troy locked up again. Why why why _why _did he have to choose that signal? Yuri kicked the hatch impatiently. "I could use a little help with this!" he coughed. Troy was trembling violently as he took a cautious step towards the pod. And another. One more... he was right next to it now. He placed his shaking hands on the hatch and pushed weakly. Yuri groaned from inside. "Now is not the time for –" Yuri had to stop to cough. He was going to suffocate inside the airtight pod.

"Troy, listen to me," Hoi commanded. "We are heading over to your location, but chances are we won't make it in time. You have to do this on your own."

"Troy, it's okay. You can do this. Just take a deep breath, no one wants to hurt you," Flint said over the radio.

"Please... do not speak of breathing," Yuri chuckled. Troy heaved at the hatch, this time putting all his strength into it. It still didn't budge.

"You're stronger than me!" Troy protested. "I-if you can't d-do it..."

"I cannot do it because my arms are trapped!" Yuri explained. Troy nodded. He pushed again, locating the pressure point that all pods had. Still nothing. Troy stared helplessly through the glass, only to see Yuri's eyes drifting shut. _Oh god! What will the other one do to me if I let him die? _Troy wondered. He battered the hatch desperately to no avail. He could see Yuri's chest heaving faster. "No!" Troy cried, pulling out his SMG. He launched a full clip into the glass and frame of the pod's hatch, eventually tearing it to bits. He yanked the remnants off and threw them away, then he unbuckled Yuri's harness. He dragged the unconscious Sangheili away, checking to make sure he was still alive. Troy collapsed against a tree in relief. By the time the rest of the team finally arrived, he had finally calmed his racing heart and Yuri was blinking in confusion, trying to remember how he got where he was.


	3. Chapter 3: The Objective

Fireteam Cobalt was trudging through the swamp, strange noises and plants surrounding them. They were all silently hoping they wouldn't meet any wildlife. Troy was next to Flint, who moved slightly closer.

"That was amazing, what you did back there," he stated proudly. "I would never have been able to live through what you experienced, let alone forgive the people who did it to me, and then save one of their lives." Troy was glad he had his polarised ODST helmet to hide his expression.

"What I did was nothing. I have not forgiven anyone; it was fear for what would happen if I didn't do it that made me save him," Troy admitted emotionlessly. Flint looked away and didn't say anything else. Hoi held up a hand, signalling the team to stop.

"I'm picking up motion ahead," he whispered over the comms. Troy readied his SMG and Flint pumped his Shotgun. Hoi nodded at Yuri, who ran over to a ridge to find the perfect place to use his Beam Rifle. Hoi slung his Assault Rifle over his shoulder and signalled Calsu and Troy to take the left flank while he and Flint took the right. Troy gulped, but knew to complain would be to give away their position and ruin any chance of a quick and easy battle. Calsu crouched and moved in the direction she was told to, Troy having no option but to follow her. Calsu peeked between two large ferns and Troy heard a sharp intake of breath from her. Troy's curiosity momentarily overtaking his fear, he crawled over to her. They were on the edge of a large cliff, and below them was a huge valley. In the middle of the valley was a large Forerunner structure. The movement they were picking up was a flock of Sentinels. "Good," Hoi said rather loudly. "We made it."

"Excuse me sir?" Flint asked. "You knew this was going to be here?"

"That is the weapons cache," Hoi explained. He privately called his COs, most likely telling them about his discovery. They waited for a few minutes before they saw a Pelican fly over to the edge of the cliff they were on, hovering in such a way that they could get on, which they did. Calsu and Yuri both wore hateful expressions and refused to get in the ship with the two ODSTs. As Troy neared it, he saw why. He gasped as he spotted a sage Mark V Spartan casually reclining in the back. "Fireteam Cobalt, this is our final member; Eugene, the last Spartan that survived Reach." Eugene nodded curtly, then continued with his reclining. Yuri grumbled something in his native language and hesitantly stepped into the vehicle. Troy stepped in after him and took a seat. They all looked at Calsu expectantly. She just stood there, looking extremely worried.

"Come on, I won't bite," Eugene chuckled evilly. Troy could tell he was enjoying this immensely. Troy knew he should feel victorious that they were getting a taste of their own medicine, but he couldn't help but feel sympathetic towards the Sangheili as she _still _just stood there.

"Calsu, get in the Pelican," Hoi sighed. Calsu shook her head.

"Demon," she muttered.

"Get in the Pelican split-lip!" Flint growled. Troy did something that surprised everyone, most of all himself. He took off his helmet, stood up, and walked over to where Calsu was standing, then held out his hand.

"A few minutes ago, I did something I hated. I was scared out of my mind, but I did it. Now I feel better for it. I'm not saying this is going to be easy, all I'm asking is that you trust me," he whispered, so softly that only she could hear it. She glanced down at his hand uneasily, then tentatively took his hand in her own. He pulled her onto the Pelican gently and sat her down next to him. Troy didn't look up because he knew everyone was staring at him. The pilot had obviously glanced back and seen they were all on board, because the ship soon started speeding towards their objective.

"So... uh," Flint started. "What's so dangerous about that structure that we need a Spartan to help us?"

"Well, tell me if you find a giant-ass Forerunner weapons cache with no Covenant clinging to it _and _no Promethean guards," Hoi snapped. Troy had to admit, it was kind of obvious. Flint shrugged indifferently.

"No harm in asking. I mean, we don't need genetically-altered freaks to babysit us. I've killed Prometheans before." It was no secret that the ODSTs had a slight feeling of hostility towards the Spartans, the only thing better than them. The Pelican slowed to a halt, it was now hovering only a few metres above the grassy ground. Calsu jumped out first, then Yuri. They swept the area, searching for hostiles. Flint and Hoi followed with Eugene and Troy last. Troy couldn't help but notice the complete over-dramatic number of weapons Eugene was carrying. He had a Combat knife on his left shoulder, six Magnums strapped to his chest, two SMGs at his hip holsters, a Spartan Laser in his hands and an Assault Rifle on his back. "Could you bring any more weapons?" Flint snarled.

"Actually," Eugene hummed. "I forgot to bring my Shotgun. Mind if I borrow yours?" Everyone froze again. Troy found himself wondering who the hell decided it would be a good idea to put an ODST with a phobia of Elites and an ODST who had a problem with Spartans in the same group with those very things (also considering the fact that it was obvious Elites weren't very fond of Spartans either). Flint knew he would lose in any battle Eugene chose to face him in, and handed over his Shotgun.

"Nothing I wouldn't do for a friend," he replied icily. Eugene handed over his Spartan Laser and inspected his new weapon. Hoi looked troubled, but he decided not to say anything, instead he just signalled for his team to follow him.

The inside of the structure was much like any other Forerunner building you cared to wander into, only when they reached the interior, they found themselves on a small balcony overlooking racks upon racks of weapons.

"Whoa," Flint gasped. Even the Sangheili seemed impressed. "We're going to need a lot more Pelicans." Hoi nodded in agreement and moved off to make the request. Troy gulped as he felt a hand on his shoulder. He was leaning against the railing. All it would take was a single push and a simple cover-up... Troy suppressed his fears and turned to face Calsu. He was distressed to find that all the others had moved down the stairs to observe the weapons below. He was alone with her. She glanced left and right, making sure no one was around. She leaned in close to him, and Troy closed his eyes.

"Thank you," she hissed, before quickly pulling away and walking down the stairs, as if afraid someone had heard her. Troy stayed there dumbly. Hoi returned and leaned against the railing next to him.

"It's good to see _someone _that isn't dumbstruck by the –"

"Shh!" Troy silenced him suddenly. Hoi reeled back.

"What?" he roared. That was a complete disrespect of his authority.

"Can't you hear that?" Troy protested. Hoi stopped and listened. A faint thrumming sound coming from outside...

"Dropships," Hoi realised.

"Covenant," Troy confirmed.

"Fireteam Cobalt! Get your asses up here!" Hoi hollered. The four assorted species scrambled to get back up to the balcony. Hoi gestured outside and flicked the safety off his Assault Rifle. They got the message; Trouble.


	4. Chapter 4: Trouble

Fireteam Cobalt charged outside, catching their enemies by surprise. Troy managed to take out a Brute and two Grunts before their enemies knew what was happening. In the confusion that followed, they were able to completely dispose of the whole scouting party who had been about to enter the structure. Two Wraiths slid into view from around the back of the structure. Flint charged up his Spartan Laser. Troy flung his SMG aside as he ran out of ammo, drawing his SOCOMS in its place. He had to settle for taking out Grunts and Jackals, as the gun was nowhere near powerful enough to take out Brutes. He knew in a few minutes his ammo for that would be gone too. It seemed as though the flood of Covenant was unending as they poured out of their dropships. Troy tossed a grenade to cover himself as he reloaded yet again. His gun clicked empty.

"I'm..." he stopped. "I'll be back!" he rushed back inside the structure.

"Troy, get your ass back here!" Hoi ordered. Calsu shook one of her Plasma Rifles as it overheated, bringing up her other one to fend off the sea of aliens. Eugene seemed to be enjoying the battle too much, stopping to laugh and taunt his enemies.

"Ugh!" Flint's legs were shot out from beneath him. Hoi ducked back inside the doorway they were using as cover and dragged him out of the line of fire. They were about to get overwhelmed. A small orange object flew out from inside the structure and landed amongst the Covenant. The aliens surrounding it were about to move away, before realising it wasn't a grenade. The ones that weren't engaged in the firefight peered at it suspiciously. Apparently, it was a grenade, as it detonated and a large orange bubble burst from it, incinerating any Covenant inside. With a ferocious war cry, Troy charged out, flinging two more of them into the crowd before hefting two Suppressors and launching a barrage of Hardlight bullets into his enemies. He flipped them around, reloaded them, then continued to fire. The Covenant were dropping like flies. He dropped his two spent guns and pulled a Scattershot off his back, punching that into his foes instead. For the few remaining, he pulled out two Bolt Shots and finished them off. Flint slapped his forehead and laughed his head off. "Is he smart, or are the rest of us just dumb?" Hoi laughed light-heartedly, the adrenaline starting to wear off. Finally, the Pelicans arrived and positioned themselves to receive as many weapons as they could.

**Two hours later...**

Hoi stepped into the waiting Pelican and waited for his team to finish the final load. He couldn't believe they had actually managed to cram every single weapon and ammo crate onto the sixteen Pelicans. Flint was lying on the seat next to him, unable to help because of his injury. Yuri hopped up with to them, Calsu close behind. They and Eugene had done the majority of the work, being the strongest. Eugene sat down as far away from everyone else as he could, silently handing Flint his shotgun back, having claimed a Scattershot for himself. Hoi tapped his fingers boredly as he waited for Troy. The young ODST finally emerged holding a small device in his hands. It had the usual orange glow that suggested it was Forerunner, but its use wasn't obvious. Troy handed it over to Hoi silently and sat down. Hoi fiddled with it for a while on the way back to the UNSC Stand in Solitude, the only ship left in its fleet had got renamed after the fall of its allies. It was on its way back to Earth to get a new fleet, but had been impeded by small jobs and skirmishes such as these. Hoi tossed the device back to Troy.

"I give up. Any idea what it is?" he inquired.

"No," Troy answered honestly. "But we have a lot of them in stock. What interests me though, is that they vary in size and shape." He ran his hands over the thing.

"Come on Troy, the reason you were on this mission was because of your knowledge of Forerunner artefacts!" Flint reminded him. Troy grimaced and poked it experimentally. It looked familiar, he just didn't know why. Then it clocked.

"Eugene," he called. "Come over here for a moment." Eugene grumbled, but got up and stomped over to him. "Turn around," Troy ordered. Eugene complied and Troy clicked the device onto his back, and after a bit of fiddling, connected it up with the suit's power supply. Two tube-like objects popped out the sides of it.

"Is that a..."

"Forerunner jetpack?" Troy suggested. "Yeah. It reminded me of the 'Armour Abilities' the Spartans used back on Reach." Hoi nodded.

"Clever." Troy glanced at the rest of the team shyly. Calsu gave him a supportive grin and Yuri just gave him a 'well done' look. Eugene grunted that he was "keeping it" and moved back to his seat.

"I knew it," Flint chuckled. "ONI doesn't give credit to those who don't deserve it." The Pelican landed. Yuri picked up Flint and made off in the direction of the infirmary, leaving the rest of the team to go their separate ways.

Troy decided to visit the cafeteria. All that fighting and adventuring had made him hungry. He found himself an empty table and sat down with his MRE. He jumped as Calsu sat down across from him, eating a Sangheili meal of her own. Troy awkwardly kept silent and ate his food. Only when he was done did Calsu finally speak.

"Why do you choose to sit alone?" she asked.

"I-I don't have a-anyone to sit with," Troy stammered. He still hadn't got over his fear of the Sangheili. Calsu cocked her head at him. "I tr-try not to get attached to anyone. It m-makes losing people a lot easier."

"Do you not get lonely?"

"I'd rather be lonely than a depressed soldier who's lost everything."

"But what is the point of it? You say you are alone because you do not want to be alone. I do not get it." Troy was starting to get annoyed. She was making him doubt himself. Of course, being Sangheili-a-phobic, he instantly assumed she was doing it on purpose. He stood up from the table.

"Oh, you're not done with me? It's not enough that you had to put me through enough torture to make a grown man cry, you want to mess with my head too? Why don't you fuck off?" He yelled the last part rather loudly, making the room fall silent. Calsu looked confused beyond belief.

"I did not mean anything by it –"

"Why can't you just leave me alone?" Troy fled from the room, leaving Calsu to sit there, wondering what she had done wrong.


	5. Chapter 5: Follow-up

Troy made his way to the briefing room. He was surprised to see Flint there, along with Yuri who had obviously carried him.

"Flint! What are you doing here?" Troy asked. Flint chuckled.

"Same thing as you; I'm going on this mission."

"But what about your injury?"

"Well, I'm not going to be on the mission with you, so to speak. I was trained as a pilot before I was selected to be an ODST." Troy nodded.

"A Hornet?"

"You know me too well." They shared a moment of companionable laughter before Hoi and Calsu arrived.

"All right Fireteam Cobalt," Hoi began. "Seems our Covenant friends didn't take to kindly to the ass-kicking they received yesterday. By the way, excellent job Troy." Troy bowed his head at the acknowledgement, before motioning for Hoi to continue. "They've set up an outpost by a large Forerunner structure that had been previously disguised. Unfortunately, they are in possession of a large UNSC MAC cannon, as well as seven AA Wraiths. Our mission, teach them what it means to be human. And Sangheili," he added quickly. "Move out!" Troy and his team grabbed their usual weapons and headed to the pod bay. As soon as they were strapped in, Hoi started discussing strategies. "As soon as we get there, our top priority is those Anti-Aircraft Wraiths. Once those are down, we all storm the MAC cannon, allowing air support to break through and assist us with the mop-up. Be warned; if we don't take out all AA forces in the area, there will be no evacuation. Is that clear?"

"Sir yes sir!" Troy replied, seeing as he was the only human there. Flint would have too, but he wasn't on the same comm channel as them.

"Then get set to dive feet first into hell!" The pods dropped. Soon the hatch was flying off and Troy leapt out. They were at the base of a mountain. At the top of the mountain was the structure, with the very out-of-place-looking MAC cannon stuck on top, much in the same manner as a child would carelessly throw their toy on the floor. There were Covenant turrets everywhere, along with the seven AA Wraiths, two Ghosts, one regular Wraith, two stationary Phantoms and a Revenant.

"Shit sir, when you said hell, I thought you meant it in the routine way," Troy commented. He was referring to the ODST motto, 'Feet first into hell', which is what most ODSTs said before dropping. Of course, this was most likely literally going to be hell.

"Yes, it would seem as if the UNSC underestimated their armaments considerably," Yuri growled.

"Yeah well, if you hadn't spent the last seven years _murdering _us, we would've had more support staff to handle the scanning. So shut up and put that Beam Rifle to use," Hoi snapped irritably.

"Hey, what happened to Eugene anyway?" Troy asked, suddenly curious as to the whereabouts of their teammate.

"He's only going to accompany us on certain missions. He's kind of being shared around all the Fireteams at the moment, being reserved for serious situations."

"And this is not serious?" Calsu butted in. Hoi shook his head.

"Not as serious as delivering a Havok Warhead to a Covenant Super Carrier."

"Oh." Calsu glanced back at the enemy forces ahead. She fingered her comm. "I count twelve snipers; Four at the top, six on the balcony, and two on the main floor. Beware, they are all Kig-Yars apart from the two at the bottom, they are Jiralhanae."

"They will fall beneath my precise aim when the human gives the word," Yuri replied. Two of the Ghosts, a squad of Brutes and two squads of Grunts were heading their way, having seen the pods land. Hoi clicked open the ODWC that had been launched alongside them. Calsu observed the letters printed on the side with some interest and, unable to see what Hoi was doing in the modified ODST drop pod, decided to question Troy.

"What is an ODWC?"

"I-it's an 'Orbital D-drop Weapons Cache'," he grunted, hating himself for still tripping over his words nervously. Hoi pulled out with a Rocket Launcher and four ammunition containers for it.

"Troy, take this. As soon as Calsu and I engage the scout party, take out the Wraiths from that ridge," Hoi pointed at a small ridge sticking out of a cliff face. Troy nodded and moved behind a rock, waiting for his teammates to distract the enemy so he wouldn't get gunned down. Soon he heard gunfire, and sprinted to his destination. The Rocket Launcher and its ammo strapped to his back, he pulled out his SMG and disposed of a couple of Grunts who had spotted him. He quickly made it to the vantage point via a small outcropping that angled up to it. He crouched down and hefted the large weapon, looking through its scope at his targets. He fired the first missile at the Anti-Infantry Wraith to give his friends a hand. It took the hit, killing the gunner, but otherwise it was unharmed. Troy growled and fired the second rocket, this time managing to hit the cabin where the driver resided perfectly. He vowed to himself that he would work on his long-range marksman skills after this. He hastily reloaded and pulled the weapon up to fire again. Troy spared a moment to gaze sideways at the three remaining ammunition containers he had set aside. Each container only held two rockets, so he had eight left. If he could manage to use one rocket per Wraith, he might just do this. That, however, was a big if. Troy held his breath to keep the weapon from moving for extra accuracy. He took aim and fired. He hit the guns right off the back of the Wraith, leaving the turret the only operating weapon. _Well, that's one way of doing it. _Troy turned his attention to another Wraith. Soon, he had taken out all seven. He ditched the empty Rocket Launcher, yes empty, he had had to use two rockets on one of the Wraiths, and sprinted back down to where the battle between the infantries was just winding down.

As promised, Yuri dealt with the Snipers quickly and efficiently. His primary task accomplished, he amused himself by picking off enemies that were hanging back at the structure, too cowardly to join in the battle at the base of the mountain. He soon had them all scurrying for the cover of the structure's interior.

"Great, now what am I going to kill?" he pondered aloud, getting to his feet.

"Only one person will be doing the killing around here, and that's ME!" roared someone behind him. He half-turned, but was too late. He caught a glimpse of a grey-clad Brute Chieftain seconds before the Gravity Hammer crushed his skull and stained the grass purple with his blood.

Hoi and Calsu stood back to back, firing into the mass of Covenant that surrounded them. Calsu's shields were flaring as she took several hits from various weapons, even going so far as to protect Hoi with various parts of her body. In essence, she was using her shields to cover two people, and they were draining. Fast.

"I've got an idea!" Hoi shouted to her. She nodded, ready to accept any plan that would lead to victory and not their deaths. He rolled away from her, causing her to cry out and try to cover him. Time seemed to slow down as she watched in awe as he flipped nimbly around his enemies, sliding and dodging with the grace and speed of a ninja, which was surprisingly exactly what he had trained as. You had to have skill to be an ODST, even more to be a sergeant of them. Soon he had disappeared in the crowd, and she continued fighting. Her shields started flashing red. There was series of explosions all throughout the Covenant ranks, thinning them considerably. Hoi emerged tossing grenades every which way, and he wasn't going to run out of the small yet powerful objects anytime soon. Soon, Calsu was scraping the bottom of the barrel, shooting Grunts and unshielded Jackals. Her tiny speck of purple that represented her shield's integrity slowly grew bigger until they were at full strength again.

"That was exhilarating," she admitted. Hoi laughed in relief.

"Turns out I can learn a thing or two from that kid. I was thinking about how we could use some cover like our last encounter, when I suddenly remembered about the winning strategy Troy used last time." Calsu smiled at the ODWC.

"Well thanks Sarge, I admire you too," Troy grinned, emerging from behind a rock. "Just finished with them Wraiths, let's call Yuri and get this over with."

"Harr harr harr harr harr harr." Troy shuddered violently. That laugh brought back horrible memories. "I think you'll find your friend was is feeling a bit 'crushed' at the moment." Calsu raised a figurative eyebrow. When it came to puns and clever taunts, Brutes weren't exactly top of the class. She turned to face the massive chieftain, as did her allies. The monstrosity was way larger than any Brute she had ever seen, and was wielding a modified Gravity Hammer; it looked bigger and more powerful.

"Dorrak," she gasped. The menacing Jiralhanae was none other than Tartarus's brother, Dorrak. He laughed again, deep and menacing. Calsu stepped back next to Hoi, drew her energy sword in the place of her near-spent Plasma Rifles and spread her legs in a 'ready' stance.


	6. Chapter 6: Bravo

Dorrak charged at them, roaring the whole way. Calsu and Hoi let out war cries of their own, and Troy tried to steady his shaking SMG. Dorrak swung his Gravity Hammer at Calsu as she and Hoi attacked from different sides simultaneously. Calsu tried to dodge, but got clipped by a centimetre of the weapon, which got her flung through the air until she slammed into a rock, depleting what little energy her shields had left and breaking a few minor bones. She collapsed to the ground, out for the count. Seconds after he had batted Calsu aside, Dorrak didn't even bother turning his Hammer around to point the 'dangerous end' at Hoi, instead just slamming the handle into him, using Brute Strength alone (now _that's _a pun) to crack his ribs and knock him away. Dorrak turned to his last opponent. Troy emptied his clip into the beast, but the two that actually overcame the violent shaking and found their target just bounced off his shield harmlessly. Dorrak laughed again.

"Is that the best you've got human?" he taunted. Troy fumbled with the clip release for a second before dropping the gun and ammunition to the ground, drawing his SOCOM instead. He hadn't felt this afraid or alone in a long time. If Sally were here, he knew he would have no trouble hammering this Brute with his guns until it stopped moving, but Sally was not there and he was having a nervous breakdown. Dorrak advanced on him.

Calsu groaned. Her HUD was flashing red wildly, beeping insistently. She couldn't feel her left leg and her spine stung so badly she couldn't move. She coughed, body wracked with pain, but glad to see she hadn't coughed up blood. That was something to be thankful for. She stared over to Hoi's slumped body, then to Troy, who was trembling like a leaf in a tornado. He was holding his pathetic little pistol, and couldn't even hold it properly. In other words; if he didn't get help, he was dead. She tried to call out to him, but could only manage an almost inaudible croak. She tried again.

"Troy!" she gasped, loud enough for him to hear her. He half-turned to her, but kept his eye on the Brute storming towards him. "Remember what his kind did to you. Remember! Pay him back!" she urged, but Troy just fell to his knees, looking as though he was about to puke. Oh, she needed to make him _avoid _thinking about his past. "Troy!" she retried. "Remember... remember what you told me! Be brave! Do not... do not let him win!" Dorrak raised his Hammer high above his head. "Do not die!" she pleaded. "That day!" she was panting now from the effort of talking. "Was the only day anyone has ever been kind to me!" Troy had his eyes closed, waiting for the inevitable end. "You made me see the good in the universe! Let me do the same!" she added desperately. Dorrak let the Hammer fall casually, not even applying any pressure behind its descent. He was in no hurry. Suddenly, Troy's hand shot up and caught the Hammer, and before Dorrak's eyes had time to widen, his weapon was ripped from his loose and cocky hands. Troy threw the weapon away, as it was too heavy for him to wield. He jumped up and kicked off the Brute's face, managing to do a somersault and land on the ground a few metres from the stumbling Brute. Troy snatched up his SMG and slammed the clip into it, then ran at Dorrak again. Dorrak shook his head, growling at the human who let loose a barrage of bullets from his gun, bringing his shields down to low before it clicked empty. Dorrak was about to laugh when Troy whipped out his SOCOM and drained the rest of his shields with that before that too was spent. As Troy brushed past Hoi's body, he slipped his Sergeant's Combat Knife from its sheath on Hoi's chest plate. Dorrak swiped to grab Troy as the human leaped at him, but narrowly missed. He roared in pain as the knife went through his throat and into his brain, the cold embrace of death claiming him in exactly five frenzied seconds. Troy landed atop the body, chest heaving with the effort. He pulled out his radio as he checked Hoi. He then proceeded to check Calsu, relieved to find they were both fine. He took off his helmet and clicked the talk button on the radio.

"This is Corporal Troy Collins; I have injured and need an Evac Bird at my co-ordinates, ASAP!" He felt someone touch his arm. He looked down at Calsu, who shook her head slowly.

"Corporal Collins, this is Hangar Bravo. There is a Pelican en route to your location right now. ETA: five minutes. Please stand by."

"Negative Hangar Bravo. Tell the Pelican to stand on station two clicks North of my location."

"Say again Corporal?"

"We have an enemy AA Gun still operational. Tell the Evac Bird to steer clear until I deactivate it."

"Roger that Corporal. Godspeed." Troy tossed the radio to Calsu.

"I'll fire a flare from the gunner seat when it's clear. Radio in as soon as you see my signal," Troy ordered. Calsu nodded and he jammed his helmet back on before sprinting off towards the structure.

Troy had picked up a Shotgun, Spartan Laser and two SOCOMS from the ODWC on his way, and was now ready for his enemies. As soon as he entered the structure he was faced with a few Grunts that had been hiding there. He quickly got rid of these and moved on to the Brutes guarding the stairs. Metre by metre, he hastily made it to the MAC cannon and blasted the gunner's head off. He fired the flare out instantly. The bright blue fireball arced through the air, softly illuminating the small box that served as the MAC cannon's control room. He started to make his way down the stairs before noticing a fleet of Phantoms and Banshees coming in. He fingered his helmet's comm.

"Calsu, patch me through to Hangar Bravo." He soon heard the buzzing voice of Hangar Bravo in his ear.

"Corporal, Calsu has given the order. Your Pelican is on its way."

"Belay that order, I repeat, do NOT send that Pelican in."

"Corporal! We need to get those injured soldiers out of there!"

"Wait until I've cleared up the airspace a bit." Troy hopped into the small seat and wrestled with the controls. He held down the trigger after he had lined up the aimer with a Phantom. There was a loud noise before the Magnetic Accelerator Cannon fired, vaporising his target. Troy grinned triumphantly and set about destroying as many ships as he could. He soon realised there was little point; they just kept coming. Suddenly, all the ships just stopped. They hung in the air as if waiting for something. Almost as if they were... afraid? That's when the Super Carrier broke through the clouds. It was flaming purple fire as it hurtled towards the surface of the planet. "Airspace is clear! Airspace is clear! Send in that Pelican!" Nothing happened. Troy searched the skies for the aircraft frantically. Heavy footsteps sounded behind him. He whirled around and readied his Shotgun, but it was an Elite that emerged from the doorway.

"I am one of the medical staff of Pelican Echo 097. We were shot down by enemy forces a minute ago while travelling here to pick you up," he explained hurriedly. Troy swore. They hadn't waited for him. He pushed past the Sangheili.

"Hangar Bravo! Hangar Bravo, can you hear me?" Static. The falling ship was creating too much interference. There would be no second Evac Bird. They ran back down to the ground floor, emerging into the sunlight. There were three additional Sangheili along with two marines and the pilot waiting for them with Calsu and Hoi just outside the doorway.

"What are we going to do sir?" one of the marines wailed. "There's no way we'll be able to call for Evac! And that ship's gonna kill us all when it hits us!" Troy picked up one of the mini stretchers that had obviously been used to carry the wounded soldiers and shoved it into the marine's hands.

"No it's not," he growled. "Because we're getting our own Evac Bird." The soldiers around him looked confused. Troy pointed to a Phantom hovering ten metres away from them. All of its troops had been killed in the firefight, leaving it free for the taking. Troy pointed to two of the Elites. "You two, I assume you know how to fly a Phantom?" Nods. "Good. Get in the pilot and co-pilot seats and prepare for launch. The rest of you, carry the wounded onto the ship. Go, we don't have much time!" Everyone scrambled to do his bidding, and in two minutes they were speeding away from their deaths in the stolen Phantom. One thing was for certain: It was going to be one hell of a debriefing.


	7. Chapter 7: Aftershock

Troy tossed his helmet on his bed and changed into the regular grey naval uniform. He made his way to the mess hall to grab something to sate his terrible hunger. He settled down at an empty table as he usually did. Calsu sat down opposite him. Before he could greet her, she cut him off.

"You did a great job," she congratulated him. Troy raised an eyebrow.

"I thought you were injured?" Calsu blushed.

"Yes. I... er, I suppose I was." Troy noticed something wrong instantly. This wasn't the embarrassed kind of blush you got when your crush found out you liked them; this was the ashamed sort of blush you got when something terrible has happened that's out of your control, and you're too scared to tell people about it. Troy clasped her hands, making her look up, right into his eyes. Troy didn't know when he started caring about how Calsu felt, but something was making him say:

"Calsu, what's wrong?"

'Nothing," she mumbled, trying to look away, but Troy grabbed her chin gently and pulled it back to face him.

"Look me in the eye and tell me that." Calsu looked down as soon as Troy released her. She trembled slightly as she whispered.

"I-I... the injury... there is a... a permanent effect..." Troy squeezed her hand comfortingly. Something was terribly wrong. Sangheili never stutter. Wait... was that a _tear _in her eye? "I can no longer have children," she babbled, tears flowing freely now. _Holy shit! _Troy mentally screamed. "My womb was critically damaged!" she sobbed. Troy quickly put an arm around her and led her out of the cafeteria, away from the stares she was attracting. Unable to think of anywhere else private enough, Troy took her to his barracks. He knew Sally was out in her lab, testing some Forerunner tech they had brought back on their other mission. He sat Calsu down on his bed, pulling up a chair so he could sit across from her. Before he could ask, Calsu launched into her explanation, so fast and with such a wavering voice that he could barely make sense of the syllables coming out of her mouth. "I will never get a mate now! They will all reject me as soon as they find out I cannot produce young! I will never find love! I have no purpose, I am dishonouring my bloodline!" She was really worked up. Troy was starting to panic. _What if she blames me? What will she do to me then? _Troy already knew what her kind was capable of, and did not want to experience it again. Calsu finally calmed down enough to see the distress she was causing him. Unable to produce words anymore, she just fell forward and hugged him, trying to put his fears to rest and comfort herself at the same time. The first half worked.

Sally trotted down the corridor to her barracks. She had been having an easier time sleeping recently because Troy was having his nightmares less. She assumed it was because of his new teammates, and was happy for him. She was surprised to see Troy sitting outside their barracks, leaning against the door with his head lolled back.

"Troy? What are you –"

"Shhh!" Troy silenced her. He grabbed her by the arm and led her away. When they were a few corridors away, he assaulted her with his story. "There is a very distraught Elite in my room and she is crying and shit and she is really really panicking and I have no idea how to deal with it she's a girl and I was wondering if you have any ideas on what I should do she's asleep at the moment and I don't want to wake her up!" Sally's eyes were rather wide at the amount of information he had just given her.

"There's an Elite in our room...?" she repeated slowly. Troy nodded.

"Yes! Her name is Calsu. Please help!" Sally cocked her head at him.

"And... you're not scared of this Elite?"

"Of course I'm scared of her! Why else would I be asking for _your_ help?" Sally frowned at him. "No! I didn't mean it like that!" Sally shook her head.

"No no," she murmured. "You're right; you must be pretty desperate to ask for help from _me_." She stomped off, quite annoyed at Troy for using that kind of tone with her. _He can solve his own problems if he's going to be an ass about it. _It was only later, after an hour of reflecting, that she realised that he had stressed the word 'your' because she was the only one he trusted for a matter as serious as the one on his hands.

Troy stood and stared at the spot where Sally had been. He tip-toed back to his barracks and opened the door a crack. Calsu was awake and sitting up on the bed. What's more, she heard the door open and was now staring at him. Troy stepped in awkwardly.

"Hey, uh..." Calsu grabbed him by the throat and slammed him against the wall.

"You will speak of this to no one," she growled. Troy nodded desperately, and Calsu's expression changed to one of pure horror when she saw how frightened she had made him. She was holding him by the throat! She whipped her hand away, trying to apologise, but Troy ducked out of the room and sprinted down the corridor. She punched the wall. All that work... she had broken the trust she had taken so much time to gain. Troy would see her as the monster he had originally seen, and would probably never give her another chance. Now she had fucked up her life even more.

**The next morning...**

Sally yawned and got up from her bed. She was usually first up, and was surprised to find that Troy wasn't in his bed. He hadn't been in bed when she had gone to sleep either. She felt a pang of worry as she walked to the cafeteria. There was no way he could have finished breakfast. She scanned all the tables, and was still unable to find him. Maybe he had skipped breakfast? A group of marines marched past on their routine morning march that the ODSTs didn't have to do. They were in charge of their own training. Nor did the civilian or Sangheili personal have to do this, as the UNSC did not have direct control over them. Sally searched for a while before returning to the cafeteria. There were no missions involving Fireteam Cobalt. She checked the ODST bay anyway, and finally found him asleep in an ODST pod. She kicked him awake.

"What the hell are you doing? I've been looking everywhere for you!" Troy rubbed his eyes.

"I-I was h-hiding from h-her," he stammered. Sally groaned. They had been through this before, on the first day the Sangheili arrived.

"It's okay they're not going to hurt..." she gasped. "Oh my god!" There was a rather large red mark on Troy's neck in the distinct shape of a Sangheili's hand. "Did she do this to you?" Sally already knew the answer. She turned to storm off, but Troy grabbed her arm.

"D-don't tell! She'll k-k-k-kill me!" Sally slapped his arm away.

"This is serious. I am going to give this 'Calsu' a piece of my mind." Sally knew exactly what she looked like, she had seen her and Troy eating together the first time round. She kicked open the door to the cafeteria. "Calsu!" she yelled. A purple-armoured Sangheili stood and walked over to her.

"What seems to be the problem?"

"The problem is that you are being a stupid bitch!" The cafeteria fell silent apart from the murmurs of interest at the events unfolding. Calsu looked taken aback. "You disgusting worm! You think you have the right to abuse our soldiers? What if you broke his neck? Would you have even cared? Don't you think he has suffered enough at the hands of your kind? You have to set back all his progress, all his healing, just because _you _have issues? Well you can go fuck yourself you split-lip, innocent-murdering, shit-eating, mother f–"

"What is going on here?" General Derz demanded. Sally turned around to find him standing in the doorway, the doors themselves hanging askew slightly because she had bent the hinges in her rage.

"This –" Sally didn't get to start up her string of insults again because Calsu cut her off.

"I have wronged one of your marines greatly."

"Which one?" Derz asked cautiously.

"Corporal Collins." Derz closed his eyes in frustration.

"My office. Now. Both of you."

General Derz massaged his temples and sighed.

"So let me get this straight. You were injured, and didn't want Troy to say anything, so you decided it would be a good idea to aggravate his phobia of Sangheili to make sure he didn't. And _you _decided it would be a good idea to pick a fight with the species that we are _barely _hanging onto an alliance with, in front of _hundreds _of spectators." He got nods from Sally and Calsu respectively. "Are you two retarded or stupid?!" he yelled, making them both cringe. He tapped his fingers on his desk for a while, thinking. "Okay, you're off the hook for now. Any more of this and you won't be so lucky. Where's the Corporal now?" Sally told him. "Do you think he'll be ready for another mission?"

"What?" Sally and Calsu asked simultaneously.

"We're going to be arriving at Earth in two hours. We need our best Fireteam to be transferred to the Shadow of Intent. It just so happens that Fireteam Cobalt is the best Fireteam we have on board."

"And the Demon? He will be coming too I suppose?" Calsu growled.

"Actually, Eugene's dead." Calsu apologised for what must have been very insensitive to the human. "Yeah, he stayed with the bomb when he took the Super Carrier down. Funny, you saw him going down." Calsu didn't find that funny, but humans had an odd way of using certain words for multiple meanings. Sally sighed, still pondering the original question.

"I don't know how bad he is," she told Derz. "He looks pretty freaked out, and probably won't be too happy going on a mission with _her_." Calsu grimaced.

"I will try to talk to him. I believe I can earn his trust again." She didn't actually, but there was no point in telling the General _that._ She made her way down to the ODST bay.


	8. Chapter 8: Once More, With Feeling

_"Harr harr harr harr," the voice boomed. Troy couldn't turn around; he was manacled to the table face-down. He felt the plasma-whip slap his back and distort his body in pain. He mentally sighed in happiness. They were going easy on him today. That didn't stop him from crying out from the agony of his already-wound-covered back. Maybe that's why they were giving him a reprise; so he could heal up a bit. Otherwise they would shred him to pieces, and what would be the fun in that? They enjoyed hearing him scream. Tears of hopelessness ran down his face as he concentrated on the number in his head. Fourteen fourteen fourteen fourteen... he couldn't lose the number. Counting the days kept him sane, kept him from breaking. Fourteen days... they won't have given up yet. He still had a chance. He cried out again. Fourteen fourteen fourteen fourteen..._

Troy gasped and sat up. He was covered in sweat. He could still feel the emotions fresh in his mind, as if he were still experiencing the memory. He ran a hand through his sweat-matted hair and breathed out slowly, trying to calm himself. He had fallen asleep about ten minutes after Sally had left him, and it seemed as though she hadn't come back. Did Calsu kill her? Is she hanging by her legs getting skinned alive? Is she having every bone in her body snapped, then healed, then snapped again? Was she being tormented for trying to help him? Was he next? Troy tried to fix his mind on how nice Calsu had been to him before, how _human _she had seemed. But all that came to him were the memories. Torture, agony, insanity. He wrestled with all the surfacing emotions and ghosts that haunted his past. He remembered the flailing body of Private Weis as the flood burrowed into his neck, and what he had done about it next. _Private Weis brought up his Magnum even as he screamed until there was no air in his lungs. Suddenly, he seemed at peace._

_"Tell Margret I love her," he told Troy. Then there was a bang, and the Private's blood sprayed across the wall. In that moment, Troy had realised how meaningless his life was. Was anyone going to miss him if he died? _Troy remembered this now, and remembered how he had made it through the past few years of his life. His sole purpose was to make sure what had happened to him didn't happen to anyone else. Private Weis had understood that; he'd taken his own life so that the Flood wouldn't spread. Troy got up and walked back to his barracks, he needed a change of clothes badly.

Calsu searched every single pod in the bay and couldn't find him. She checked the note Sally had left her and confirmed she was in the right place. Troy must have left, most likely for his barracks. She ran down the corridors to the location she remembered her friend's barracks to be. She knew if she didn't catch him there, she wouldn't have enough time to see him before the mission. She forgot her courtesies in her hurry and barged in. Troy was standing there, half naked, a discarded and sweaty uniform at his feet. His head jerked up to look at her. He looked very startled.

"Pl-please. I tr-tr-tr-tried to tell her!" Troy begged, dropping the clean shirt he was holding. Calsu had caught sight of something that had interested her though. She grabbed Troy by the shoulder and spun him around. She gasped. Burned into his skin was the mark of the Covenant. Many long red stripes surrounded it, Calsu knew they were whip marks. She could see some other faded wounds too, but they were healed enough so she couldn't tell what they were. Down the left side of his chest there was a long scar that extended right down to his stomach. Forerunners knew what that was from. All she could do was stare at his muscly body as he slipped his shirt on, blushing.

"I am terribly sorry for what I did... I panicked, and I shouldn't have taken it out on you," Calsu apologised, hoping it would be good enough. "You have been through some terrible things... I understand your phobia now." Troy blushed more and walked past her.

"It's all in the past now, don't worry about it. Besides, it wasn't you who did it." Calsu wondered why all men couldn't be this wise. So many times she had given him reason to doubt her... yet he still gave her his trust. She hated what had happened to her, but hated how she had reacted to it even more. She felt ashamed that she had cracked so easily, and a human had been stronger than her for a longer time than her, and in worse circumstances than her. She had lost it when she lost her ability to make children, and this human had lost everything. His family, his confidence, his will to live, his trust. And yet, he was still a better person than her.

"I _will _make it up to you," she vowed. Troy paused.

"Hey uh, I don't know if this is personal or not, but what did you mean when you told me I had given you something to live for?" Calsu had that look about her, the look people got when they were going to be talking for a long time.

"For many years, I have been slaughtering your kind, thinking it was going to give me honour and glory. All it did was waste lives, as being a female I couldn't achieve anything, even if I did a better job than the males. So that became pointless, then it became even more pointless after we realised our whole religion had been a lie. Then the humans took us in, and we realised the mistake we had made, such a fatal mistake... I thought I deserved to die for the heinous crimes I had committed, but then you came along." She paused to glance at him, to check if he was still listening. "You made me realise that life wasn't a straight road. You think it is going somewhere, then you realise there is a turn ahead. In a complicated way, you made me realise things could change. I could be and do whatever I wanted. Then there was the accident..." She trailed off, and fell into a depressed silence.

"It wasn't an accident," Troy corrected her. "The Brutes did this to you. Remember that. Remember what happened, and make sure no one else ever has to experience it too." Calsu knew he was right. He had done it again, given reason to banish her doubts. _So that is how he lives with it. He lives not for himself, but for others. Humans have more honour than the Profits ever suspected, more than _I _ever suspected. _She suddenly remembered why she was there.

"We have another mission," she informed him. Troy nodded.

"Once more unto the breach?" he joked. Calsu smiled.

"Together," she agreed, happy with the strengthened version of their friendship they had just forged in that one moment of honesty.

Troy slipped on his helmet and stepped out of the Pelican into the sci-fi interior of the Shadow of Intent. Flint glanced back from his seat in the cockpit.

"Good luck," he said sadly. Hoi nodded to him and stepped off with Troy and Calsu. They were to meet up with their new team and get ready to drop in one hour. They hurried to the modified hangar in the ship that contained sixteen ODST pods and a small human armoury in it. There were five Sangheili and Four ODSTs there waiting for them, as well as a Sergeant. One of the Sangheili was wearing an intricately patterned shiny silver set of armour that displayed a rank Troy had never seen before.

"Arbiter!" Calsu gasped, falling to one knee respectfully.

"Rise sister," Arbiter commanded with a chuckle. Calsu hastily stood as straight as she could. Arbiter finished talking to one of the Sangheili and moved off to another room. The Marine Sergeant turned around to face them.

"Well it's about time!" he braked. He pulled a cigar out of his mouth and blew out a puff of smoke. "Alright, we ain't got much time, so let's get straight to the point! We've got a ton of Covenant bastards on our asses and they ain't playin' too nicely. So we're gonna show them a good time." He paused to take another puff. "You are going to drop in there and use the nerd herd's techy-gizmo to lock on to the Master Chief's signal so me and my team can go down there and save his ass. Sounds easy don't it? Well it's not! The corps always has a catch; you're gonna need to wait until such time as the Master Chief feels inclined to separate himself from the Profit's ship, which'll probably be some time after it breaks through the atmosphere. All you gotta do is hold out until the criteria are met, then take cover 'cause we gonna blow their asses straight to hell! Is your objective clear marines?"

"Sir yes sir!"

"Mm-hmm, damn right it is. Now move out!" The ODST and Sangheili scrambled to find weapons and strap themselves into their pods.

"Hey Sergeant Johnson," one of the ODST called out. "How much resistance should we be expecting?"

"Let's put it this way marine; if you don't kick some ass, expect to find a foot up yours." The pods dropped. Troy glanced at the screens which showed him all of his teammates and their names.

"So, who here's ready to land feet first in hell?" an American guy by the name of Austin asked.

"Shove it up your arse Captain," an Australian Gunnery Sergeant named Caleb retorted.

"Twenty bucks says that I land on something again," a British person called Rob laughed.

"Huh, you won't be so lucky this time Rob. You're on!" a Mexican woman, Linda, accepted. Troy smiled. The parachutes blew and the pods jerked slightly as their descent was slowed. He glanced at four (not counting Calsu) Sangheili accompanying them. There was Nasu, he wore Blue Special Ops Armour and had red, glowing eyes. Toron'ar wore red Ranger Armour and had dull grey eyes; he seemed quite a bit older than the other Sangheili Troy had seen. Lorak wore green Minor armour and had bright blue eyes; he seemed very young and was constantly fidgeting. This was probably his first drop. The last was a Sangheili Major with shiny white armour that had barely a scratch on it, which led Troy to believe he had only recently acquired the rank. His name was Faer'tas. The pods struck the ground, sending sprays of dirt into the air. Troy kicked his hatch open and landed on the New Mombasa soil for the first time. He pulled out his SMG and SOCOM, and headed for the IFFCTD case he had been trusted with.

"I have yet to learn what we are doing with this 'IFF Co-ordinate Tracking Designator," Toron'ar stated as he watched Troy's back with his Carbine. Calsu jogged over to them with her signature duel Plasma Rifles.

"The location is just over that ridge," she told them, pointing. "It is swarming with enemies." Troy nodded, and started to head over just as the rest of the team arrived. On the way, Troy spotted, to his bemusement, a lone Grunt crushed under one of the pods. He glanced back and saw Linda hand Rob a twenty dollar note. The rest of the Grunt's squad was just ahead. They quickly disposed of them. Troy paused at the edge of the ridge.

"Uh... sir?" Hoi came up behind him.

"Oh," was all he could manage. There were at least a hundred aliens between them and their objective.


	9. Chapter 9: Once More Unto the Breach

_Boom. _Fuel Rod Cannons caused dirt to fly and dust to obscure his vision as he sprinted, firing randomly yet still being guaranteed to hit something. He ducked under a streak of plasma that would have taken his head off and kept running. He threw the IFFCTD over to Private Rob.

"Thanks Troy," the British ODST said sarcastically. He strapped the case to his back and made a beeline for where he needed to use it. Troy rolled behind a road barrier and covered his back. Rob dropped the case behind a large concrete wall and returned to the battle.

"We still have about five minutes!" Troy yelled.

The four Sangheili arrived by Hoi and Calsu at the top of the hill as they waited for Troy, Austin and Caleb to arrive.

"How we doing for time?" Hoi shouted.

"Four and a half minutes!"

"Aaargh!" Troy stared at Caleb as he was torn to pieces by Spikers.

"We're still about a half a click away!" Troy cried in dismay. "We need transport!"

"Roger that, transport inbound," Flint replied over the comms. Soon there was a Pelican overhead, slowly descending. A Spike Grenade embedded itself in the wall next to Troy. He cried out and ducked out of the way, pushing Austin with him. The grenade exploded and took part of the wall with it. Troy was lying flat on his back, knocked over by the explosion. He could see the Pelican, slowly floating towards the ground. Austin pulled him back to his feet.

"Let's go!" he ordered. Troy nodded and followed him to the next adjacent wall. The Pelican dropped a Warthog on the ground a few feet in front of them. Troy leaped into the Driver seat and Austin slid the case into the back and got in the passenger side. Troy stepped on the pedal and the Warthog's tyres squealed as it sped off. A Spiker round smashed right through the windscreen and embedded itself in Austin's stomach. He screamed in pain, but braced himself against the blood-splattered windscreen.

"We've got wounded!" Troy told Linda, who was trained as a medic, over the comms. He stomped on the brakes and the Warthog jerked to a halt. Troy ran around and hauled Austin out of the vehicle, then dragged him over to the bunker entrance where Linda was waiting. She and two of the Sangheili were defending the doorway so their teammates could retreat to it once the job was done. "Can you do your job?" Troy demanded. Linda nodded.

"Go!" she assured him. She pulled off Austin's helmet and studied his injury. Troy rushed over to the Warthog and grabbed the IFFCTD out of the back. He threw it down at the base of yet another concrete barrier with Covenant forces pounding the other side. Another Spike Grenade thunked into the wall next to him, so Troy pulled it out and tossed it back. He managed to take out a couple of Brutes with it, allowing himself a grin for that.

"One minute!" Hoi warned him as the Sergeant hopped up into the Warthog turret. He started gunning down any alien that got too close as Troy counted down. A Brute charged at him, making him abandon the IFFCTD for his life. He sprayed the Brute in the back with his SMG, taking it down. "Thirty seconds!" There was a pink blast and Hoi was thrown off the turret like a rag doll.

"Sarge!" Troy screamed.

"Zero Seconds!" Linda called out, then she grunted, as she pulled the Spike out of Austin, who shouted in agony. Troy slid over to the IFFCTD and flipped the case open. He removed the large object from the box and rested it on his shoulder, looking through the telescopic sights.

"Target... acquired," he growled as the comet that was the Master Chief flashed green and a set of co-ordinates flashed up on the screen.

"Co-ordinates received!" the Shadow of Intent informed them. "Rescue team on the way. Fall back, I repeat, fall back!" Troy ran back to the bunker where the one surviving Sangheili, Calsu, Linda and Austin were waiting. He felt guilty as he passed Hoi's lifeless body, and just managed to snatch up his dog tags before continuing to the bunker. There was a Brute Chieftain following him, swinging its Gravity Hammer wildly as it charged. Troy ducked inside the UNSC building. Linda held a hand above the door control, but knew the Brute could easily smash it in with its weapon, so she waited for Troy to emerge from within the bunker carrying a Rocket Launcher. He kneeled for better accuracy and took his aim. He fired and the missile slammed into the Chieftain, putting an end to him in a mini mushroom cloud. Troy ducked back inside and Linda closed the door.

"Job well done Fireteam Cobalt," Linda congratulated them.

**Three hours later...**

Troy, Austin, Linda, Calsu and Nasu arrived back at the UNSC Stand in Solitude. Troy practically fell onto his bed as soon as he got to his barracks. After a few minutes, there was a gentle knock.

"Come in," Troy mumbled. Calsu trotted inside. "Oh! Hi Calsu." Troy sat up and crossed his legs.

"Troy..." she started. She sounded a bit nervous. She sounded like she had a question.

"Yes?" Troy asked.

"Er... You did an excellent job on our last mission. I mean to say, you must have quite an appetite... I um, would be happy if you would want to join me in the cafeteria?" Troy highly doubted she knew what dinner with someone implied in human culture, but the way she said it reminded him of a schoolgirl trying to ask a boy out on her first date. He smiled at the thought, unaware of the relief that expression gave Calsu.

"Sure. I guess I _am _kinda hungry." Calsu and Troy walked together to the cafeteria, chatting the whole way. By the end of the hour, they knew heaps more about each other, and were the best friends either of them had ever had.


	10. Chapter 10: The Ark

Troy woke up to the sound of alarms. He hastily slipped into his jumpsuit and ran to the armoury to grab his armour and weapons. Soon he was suited up and meeting his team in briefing room 19.

"What is going on?" Calsu asked.

"We're being boarded. We just need to wait here until the captain tells us –"

"Fireteams 20-40 head to sector Alpha, Sierra 60." Troy smiled at her.

"That's us." He jammed his helmet on his head and they all sprinted down the corridor to the location marked on their HUD. It was unclear who the leader of their squad was, because Austin was in the infirmary and none of them had any idea how Sangheili ranks converted to those of humans. Several boarding craft were attached to the airlocks, and some had even punctured the wall, which meant that as soon as they detached, the room would depressurise. It was a very large room, a hall. It had a raised platform at one end and several seats at the other. Troy and his team used the benches as cover, flipping them over so that they could hide behind them. They cleared the room without too much trouble. "Advance!" Troy shouted, signalling with his fingers. They entered the next room. Soon they had cleared out three sections all by themselves, and the alarms stopped sounding.

"The ship is clear. Well done Fireteams," the captain announced over the intercom. Troy sighed with relief and walked into the next room, which he happened to know was an observation platform. He stared through the glass at the scene below, gasping in awe. It was a large structure floating in space, similar to a Halo, but way bigger and a different shape.

"The Covenant have found the Ark," Nasu observed. "This is not good." Indeed, there were several Covenant Cruisers hanging around the installation. Troy observed the UNSC Frigates that were fending them off. He saw a flock of Pelican Dropships flying down to the surface. At that exact moment, Flint paged them through the comms.

"We have a new mission. We're going in," he told them. Troy shook his head at the lack of breaks in the action and sprinted down to the briefing room with the rest of his team hot on his heels. In minutes they were on board a Pelican descending towards the Ark.

"We have two Scarabs. Repeat, two Scarabs!" a marine cried over the comms. Down below, a Warthog ground to a halt next to two Hornets. Troy, the recently healed Flint, Linda, Nasu and Calsu all jumped off the Pelican along with a bunch of marines. The Arbiter and Master Chief got off the Warthog.

"Let's go," Master Chief commanded in his brassy voice. Troy slipped his SMG into his belt and grabbed the Spartan Laser the Spartan was offering him. Master Chief and his shiny green Mark VI armour jumped into the pilot seat, leaving Troy and Flint to climb onto the landing skis. Flint was wielding a Sniper Rifle in the place of his Shotgun, which now resided on his back. The Hornet sped off, making Troy grab at the railing next to him in order not to fall off. Two giant blue objects landed in the snow next to a Forerunner structure. They unfolded to reveal themselves as Scarabs, the massive, near-invincible Covenant war machines. Master Chief was an expert pilot and had no trouble avoiding the incoming enemy fire, and was skilled enough not to shake the vehicle too much, so he didn't upset the ODSTs' aim at all. Soon, they were hovering above the first Scarab. "Get off," Master Chief growled. Being someone who never said anything more than he had to, he didn't use manners very often. Flint and Troy dropped onto the Scarab, whipping out their close-range weapons for the infantry that resided on it. The second Hornet appeared out of nowhere and started helping them wipe out all the Covenant troops that were stupid enough to remain on the outside. Troy and Flint stormed inside, taking out all the Brutes there. Troy smashed the shield that protected the life-support thingy on the Scarab, easily dispersing it. Flint shoved a grenade in the weird device and the two ODSTs hurried to get away. The Scarab started exploding and Troy and Flint leaped off it, landing in the surprisingly soft snow. In the distance, Troy spotted Master Chief jumping out of his Hornet and landing on the second Scarab, then a Warthog Guass pulled up to them, the driver the only person in it.

"Could use you on the guns guys," the marine explained. Flint slid over the bonnet into the passenger seat, allowing Troy to climb into the gunner seat. They set about mopping up the Ghosts and infantry that remained. Once they had finished, they spotted Arbiter and Master Chief standing next to a Hardlight bridge that lead to the Forerunner structure. A Pelican hovered down to pick them up. When they were all seated the ship flew off to pick up more survivors. Troy felt a feeling of dread when he realised he couldn't see Calsu anywhere. He tried to keep the thoughts from his mind, but a nagging voice told him this is what always happened to people he got close to. He closed his eyes and tried to keep himself from puking for the rest of the journey. When he got back to the Stand in Solitude, Flint led him to the cafeteria, saying they hadn't had breakfast and this would be his first meal in days that didn't come from a nurse blah blah blah. Troy didn't feel very hungry. He sat down, staring at his MRE, poking it with his fork.

"That was an interesting battle," Calsu remarked, taking a seat next to him. Troy stared at her.

"You're alive! I mean... I thought I'd lost you..." Calsu giggled, which was very unusual coming from an Elite, and Flint knew it. He excused himself and left the two alone, grinning to himself.

"It is nice to know someone cares," she replied happily, her eyes sparkling with an emotion Troy had been seeing more and more of recently; he just had no idea what it was. They ate their meals together, Calsu chatting about how she had never been in a snowy place before. She then continued to describe what Sangheilios was like. Troy stopped listening a while ago and was studying her in a new light. He was no longer repulsed or frightened by her kind. In fact, he could say... Troy blushed as he realised Calsu had asked him a question, interrupting his train of thought.

"I-I'm sorry. What w-was that?"

"I said: What is it like on Earth?" Troy pondered this.

"Well, personally, the only time I've ever been there is on our mission in New Mombasa, so I know as much as you."

"Oh," Calsu blushed. She felt like an idiot for assuming something like that. "Er... what planet do you come from?"

"Harvest. It's gone now. Glassed a few years back."

"I'm sorry." Troy was picking at his food again, unwanted memories trying to force themselves into his mind.

"Don't be. Everyone suffers in war." Calsu placed her hand on his reassuringly.

"Some more than others." Troy smiled gratefully at her. After a few minutes of companionable silence, Calsu cleared her throat. "Er... Troy." Troy looked sideways at her. "I, er... my barracks were depressurised by a fleeing boarding craft, ahem, which, er, means I do not have a place to stay. So, um... I was wondering if I could stay with you?" Troy laughed at how shy and nervous she was acting.

"Of course. Have to check with Sally first though." Calsu brightened visibly at this. Troy led her to Sally's lab where she would be working at this time of day. What he found was a locked door with a sign saying 'Caution: Depressurised Compartment' taped to it. He and Calsu shared a look. Troy flipped up the piece of paper to look at the list of personnel unaccounted for whose last seen location was this lab. Sally was on the list. Troy groaned and rested his forehead against the wall. Calsu placed a comforting hand on his shoulder and half-dragged him back to their barracks. She left him on his bed to come to terms with the past few days. The poor human hadn't had any time to grieve for his losses... and it was getting to him. Hoi and Sally had special places in his heart, and the Corps just demanded more from him. Now was his time to remember them and to find out how to live with them being dead. Calsu watched the human shiver, and knew he was going to have a few nightmares that night. She wondered if he had ever had someone there for him, to comfort him after these nightmares. Sure, he had had Sally, but there was only so much a person who barely knew you could do. Calsu felt that she knew Troy very well, and decided she knew what he needed. She let her armour fall to the floor, leaving her in her thin skinsuit. She lay down beside him and, well... spooned with him. She tucked her arms around his body, hugging him from behind, and rested her head on his neck, then pulled the cover over them. For the first time in three and a half years, Troy fell asleep peacefully and woke up with not a single nightmare.


	11. Chapter 11: Ceremony

Troy opened his eyes warily. He was surprised to find himself awake at the right time. He usually woke up early in the morning due to nightmares, but something was different today, he couldn't remember what... He felt something shift behind him and an arm around his waist tightened its grip slightly.

"Good morning," Calsu murmured. Troy blushed fiercely as he felt the arousal of being this close to a girl. In bed. Near naked.

"G-g-g-good m-m-m-morning," he stammered. Calsu rubbed her face against his neck.

"Sleep well?" Troy decided she was enjoying this waaaay to much, but couldn't do anything but blush harder. She didn't wait for an answer. "How about we go get some breakfast?" Troy nodded, not trusting himself to speak. He wondered if Calsu did these things to embarrass him, or if she actually had no idea how suggestive these things were. She pulled out of the bed and strapped her armour on, holding out a hand for Troy to take. He accepted, and was pulled to his feet by the incredibly strong Sangheili. "Hopefully we get the day off today," she said as they walked. Troy paused. He looked out the large window nearby.

"Is that... Earth? Damn, those guys need to announce these things!" Calsu and Troy took a seat with some marines who knew all the latest gossip and caught up with recent events. The Stand in Solitude was on shore leave because of its valiant efforts in recent battles. In fact, one of them added, they believed there was going to be a medal ceremony this evening.

As it turned out, there was a medal ceremony that evening. The entire crew showed up wearing their uniforms and any medals they had previously earned. Calsu seemed quite curious about the whole thing and even went as far as to accompany Troy to the ceremony. She seemed quite interested in the medal already hanging on Troy's shirt. Troy had explained it was the 'Prisoner of War' Medal, awarded to those taken as a POW and survived it. Troy was surprised when he was called up that evening to receive the 'Navy and Marine Corps' Medal and the 'Medal of Honour'. Calsu was among the many clapping for him. Hoi got awarded a few medals. Troy grimaced, remembering those medals would be given to his family alongside his coffin. Troy felt honoured to have three medals pinned to his chest, and the new rank of Sergeant, First Class. He now commanded Fireteam Cobalt. He felt a bit overwhelmed by the sudden twist of fate. The war was over, he had close friends, and he was highly honoured. He grinned to himself, then to Calsu. She smiled back at him. The ceremony over, the marines were left to enjoy their leave. Tomorrow Pelicans would be available to take down to Earth for shore leave, but Troy knew he would stay here. He didn't really have a right to go on Earth, it wasn't his home; it was his mission. Now, it was just another planet that happened to also be the planet where humans originated from. He felt a hand on his shoulder, and turned to see Calsu. He realised he had just been staring at the planet he had been pondering about, and had completely forgotten about her.

"Troy, there is something I have been meaning to tell you..." Troy glanced at her questioningly. He found himself staring at her again, remembering the time in the cafeteria when he had come so close to considering telling her... but he could never. If she found out...

"Yes?" he asked, trying not to blush.

"I have... had a _feeling _that has, er, been nagging at me for a while." She choked on her words, blushed a bit, then stalled. She tried to find a way to say it without him hating her. "A feeling about you." Troy hoped he wasn't getting the wrong message here. He stepped up so he was inches away from her. She was quite a bit taller than he was, but not significantly so. Thank god females were slightly smaller than the average male. He reached up, wondering if he was about to die, and pulled her head down towards him so he could kiss her, right on the mandibles. She slid her arms around him and hugged him to her, adjusting so she had a better angle. When Troy finally broke the kiss, she was a bit flustered. "Is it really that obvious?" she asked.

"No," Troy replied. "I was just hoping that you meant what I've been feeling for the past few days." Calsu gasped happily and kissed him again. Troy giggled shyly, causing Calsu to smirk devilishly.

"Do you want to do something special with me?" she whispered, right in his ear. He closed his eyes, unable to guess what she meant. She sounded excited about it though, so he nodded and decided to go with it, to make her happy.


	12. Chapter 12: Something Special

_A/N Warning: This chapter contains sexual material and may not be suitable for younger viewers :P Don't worry, there's no plot in here, they pretty much just have sex, then the next chapter will resume with the story. So for those of you who don't like to read about the funnest and most natural cycle of life, skip to the next chapter. For those of you who do dare venture forth, enjoy!_

Troy closed the door behind them gently.

"So what did you –" Calsu pushed him over onto the bed before he could finish. She grinned and straddled his waist, her armour gone somehow. _She must be fast at undressing, _Troy concluded. All she was wearing was that tight black skinsuit. "Uh... Calsu?" Troy wondered if this was another one of those things she did unintentionally.

"What is wrong Troy?" she purred seductively. "I will not bite... hard." She winked at him, and there was no mistaking what she wanted to do with him now.

"Al-already?" he stammered. "B-but we j-just –" Calsu put a finger to his lips.

"Shhhhh. I am not one of your kind, remember? When a Sangheili wants someone, they have to give themselves to that person first." She leaned in close so she could whisper in his ear. "I am giving myself to _you_." Troy started to panic. What was he supposed to do? He loved Calsu but had so many doubts.

"C-Calsu, what if I'm... I'm small by Sangheili standards? What if we don't even have compatible sex organs? Jesus Christ, I'm a virgin!" Calsu jerked up, losing some of her arousal. He had a point.

"Do you have a penis?" she asked bluntly. Troy nodded nervously. Calsu relaxed a bit, regaining some of those hormones. "Good, that is all I need to hear. We can work this out... together." She stroked his cheek gently. "We will never know if we do not give it a try." Troy submitted. He hoped he would be good enough for her. He knew the basics of sex from school, but that didn't do anything to help his stamina. She slipped easily out of her skinsuit like a snake would shed its skin, leaving Troy dumbstruck on the bed. He gawped at her perfect curves and smooth, reptilian skin. Troy quickly glanced away from her wet vagina. He felt himself go hard. "Surely you know that we have to be naked to do this?" Troy blushed as he realised he was still wearing his clothes, and that Calsu was staring at him expectantly. Troy clumsily took his uniform off, and soon he was naked and tomato red in the face in front of his Sangheili friend. He refused to meet her eye out of embarrassment, awaiting her reaction to his body.

Calsu's face turned purple slightly. She was blushing. Troy was aroused by her too? That was something she found extremely relieving. She then noted the expression on Troy's face and quickly closed the gap between them. She pulled him in close and kissed the nape of his neck, eliciting a gasp of surprise and pleasure from her partner. She had mated once before with another Sangheili, and it was nothing like this. This human actually cared about her, was actually pleased with her, and was making her very emotional – the predominant one being happiness. She pulled back slightly, only enough so that she could align her mandibles with Troy's lips and kiss him. Troy was quite limp in her arms, shaking slightly from the pleasure. Calsu found the opportunity to slip her tongue into his mouth, increasing the passion of the kiss. Troy's eyes drifted shut and he wrapped his arms around her waist, accepting the presence of her slender tongue in his mouth.

Troy moaned as Calsu started to trace intricate patterns on his back softly with her fingers. As she pulled away, a single strand of saliva connected them. Calsu giggled as Troy blushed again. She pushed him flat on his back and stared hungrily at his stiff shaft. She gave it an experimental stroke, making Troy buck his hips. She grinned wickedly as she proceeded to pump it, making him gasp and shudder in pleasure. Though soon she felt him grab her wrist. She stopped and looked at him, slightly confused.

"Y-you've g-g-got b-better st-st-stamina than m-me," he warned her. She nodded. He was only human after all. She wondered how he was going to compensate when he grabbed her rump and guided her so that her dripping wet sex was hanging above his head. She was completely and utterly confused now. Her kind don't care about mutual pleasure, it was the males who mattered. So the last thing she expected, because she couldn't peer over her shoulder properly, was for Troy to lick her most sensitive place. She gasped and collapsed onto Troy's lap, taken completely off-guard by the sudden pleasure. She moaned softly as Troy started to eat her out, feeling like a queen. She closed her eyes and enjoyed the intense feelings coming from her nethers, almost allowing Troy to bring her to an orgasm before she forced herself to stop him. She panted for a bit before finally managing to communicate what she wanted through hand gestures, too flustered to speak. Troy nodded, getting up on his knees and watching her stand up on all fours. She glanced back over her shoulder and signalled him to start. Troy pushed his dick into her slowly, relishing the feeling of her tight vaginal walls. Calsu gasped in rapture. How much further did he have to go? She felt a little bit of pain as he kept pushing in, but refused to cry out. Eventually, he bottomed out inside her. He let them both adjust to the new feeling before slowly withdrawing, then spearing forth again. He repeated this several times, eventually getting into a rhythm of thrusting. Calsu gasped, panted and moaned only slightly more than he did. He grabbed her ass for support and started thrusting deeper and harder. Calsu couldn't hold herself up anymore, so she collapsed again and let Troy hold her rear end up as he continued thrusting. However, before he could bring both of them to climax, he started slowing down. Calsu could easily hear his heavy breathing and new her mate was too tired to keep up his movements.

Calsu gently pulled away from him, making him completely unsheathe himself from her depths. He groaned slightly in protest, but was too exhausted to make any physical retaliation. Calsu pushed him onto his back again and held herself above him. He stared at her through half-lidded eyes, not fully comprehending what was about to happen. Calsu let gravity pull her rump down upon Troy's waiting shaft, enveloping him in her once again. Troy bucked slightly, then just lay there and moaned as she rode him mercilessly, bringing them ever closer to their release. Troy started bucking up into her again when the feeling got extremely intense, and they soon fell into a rhythm; as he thrusted up, she would fall down, meeting in the middle and slamming their pelvises together. Calsu knew she was about to scream as her climax hit her, so she leaned down and kissed Troy again, letting her tongue droop into his mouth tiredly. Troy clasped her tightly as he came in her, and she came around him. Calsu went limp on top of her mate, breathing heavily. Troy's eyes drifted shut, and before Calsu joined him in sleep, she managed to pull the sheets up over them.


	13. Chapter 13: Accepted

Calsu yawned, mandibles splitting wide open. She blinked awake and glanced at her mate. He was still breathing evenly, sound asleep. She grinned and checked the time. 8:56 am. Normally the day would start at 7:00 if you were lucky, but Calsu remembered they were on leave. She settled back down next to Troy. Their activities last night must have taken more out of him than she had expected. Not that it mattered; she would always wait for him.

By the time Troy woke up, Calsu was already getting dressed. He lazily slid out of bed, the cool morning air making him shiver as it brushed against his bare skin. He pulled on his uniform, giving Calsu a quick kiss before they headed out to the cafeteria. Once they had settled down, Flint, Linda, Nasu and Austin sat across from them.

"So... how'd it go last night?" Flint inquired, shovelling a forkful of MRE into his mouth. Troy and Calsu shared a worried look. "Oh come on! Did you really think we wouldn't notice?" Their four squad mates were grinning evilly.

"It went excellently," Calsu answered, denying them the amusement her blush would bring. She slid an arm around Troy's shoulders to prove this point. He however, was too shy to repress his blush, causing their friends to chuckle, which in turn made him blush harder.

"He is red as a potato!" Nasu exclaimed, making everyone except himself roar with laughter. He sat there, slightly confused at what the big joke was.

"It's... _tomato!" _Flint gasped, trying to repress his mirth long enough to speak. Finally, they all calmed down a bit. Nasu harrumphed, not daring to say anything else.

"It's all right," Austin comforted him. "We're all Newbies at one point." Austin turned to Calsu. "Even you. Funny how these things happen, ay? One moment, you were the new recruit, then next you're hookin' up with ODSTs." Again, Calsu tried not to blush, and tried to cover up the colour spreading across her face by saying:

"You sound disappointed," she teased. "If any more females make it into the military, I will alert you."

The six friends continued like this for hours, laughing, teasing and just having a good time in general. War was weird like that; it was so horrifying, yet it could forge friendships, help you find love, give you a reason. And when it was over... you tended to appreciate the small things more.


End file.
